The present invention relates to tool storage and, in particular, to a compact tool rack for the storage and organization of tools and equipment.
Various tools and equipment are required for the maintenance and landscaping of a household and grounds. Many are elongated and bulky and pose difficulties in storage within a garage or utility enclosure. More often, than not, the items are stored in available corners or niches in commingled order, making organization and retrieval difficult. Unlike small hand tools where a multiplicity of organized enclosures are available, typical household tools and equipment are large and diverse in size and shape. Accordingly, mobile tool cabinets as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,132 to Combs et al. cannot be utilized. Similarly, wall mounted magnetic holders as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,698 to Handler et al. provide inadequate strength for large items such as rakes, shovels and the like.
Tool organizers specifically adapted to these tools and equipment have generally taken a linear format wherein the items are arranged in serial side-by-side relationship. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,228 to Arnold discloses a garden equipment support rack wherein a wire frame, mounted on a wall, includes a pair of linearly spaced hooks for supporting the tool. U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,092 to Teeny discloses a wire frame rack having a plurality of linearly spaced pockets for aligning the handles of elongate articles. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,226 to Rodman discloses a random tool rack having spaced hooks for supporting handled tools. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,191 to Bunn discloses a rack for a pickup truck wherein the handles of the tools are supported in a series of aligned cylindrical members. While the foregoing approaches provide for adequate organization and storage, a multiplicity of tools requires considerable lineal space, which is not always available.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an organizing and storing device for compactly holding elongated implements.
Another object is to provide a tool organizer having a plurality of rows of tool supports that may be individually accessed.
A further object is to provide a tool organizer having rows of pivotal arms supporting elongated tools that may be selectively pivoted to store and access the desired implement.
The foregoing objects are accomplished by a tool rack organizer having a support assembly including rows of horizontal arms normally disposed in parallel spaced relation to a storage wall. The outer arms are pivotally connected to the support assembly for independent movement between a closed position and an open position. The arms are provided with a series of longitudinally spaced opening for attaching implement hooks to thereby hang customary tools, equipment and other implements. The organizer, with the compact rows of hooks, provides a compact rack arrangement for storing and accessing a multiplicity of tools in a minimum of wall space.